Feb 7, 2022, 8:50 pm
Last edit by: rrgg
Retention department:
800.452.3945 (After entering your card number you may hear a "no longer in service" type of message -- if this happens, HUCA)
-OR-
855.857.7657
Hours: 08:00 - 23:00 Eastern Standard Time
or chat with a Membership Consulting Services Monday to Friday, 9:00AM to 5:30PM ET (7/19 - quoted 8:30 AM to 3:45 PM ET for Amex Business account)
To access chat:
Login to the Amex App, then press the chat icon at top right.
Via the web:
Log into http://americanexpress.com
Select "Help" at top right
Select the blue "Live Chat" button.
800.452.3945 (After entering your card number you may hear a "no longer in service" type of message -- if this happens, HUCA)
-OR-
855.857.7657
Hours: 08:00 - 23:00 Eastern Standard Time
or chat with a Membership Consulting Services Monday to Friday, 9:00AM to 5:30PM ET (7/19 - quoted 8:30 AM to 3:45 PM ET for Amex Business account)
To access chat:
Login to the Amex App, then press the chat icon at top right.
Via the web:
Log into http://americanexpress.com
Select "Help" at top right
Select the blue "Live Chat" button.
- If you product change your Amex, they will prorate the annual fee refund.
- If you cancel your account completely, you will be refunded the annual fee if within 30 days of the print date of the statement showing the fee. After that, there's no refund.
American Express retention offers (2022)
Nov 27, 2022, 4:43 pm
#1171
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
Posts: 32,092
Any risk of claw-back on a retention bonus - story is I pre-paid for a hotel awhile ago, hit the minimum spend with other spending (and stopped spending at end of Oct), the retention bonus posted to my account. Paid bill. Currently have a zero balance. Just stayed at the hotel and was hoping to pay the rest with another card but they couldn't do it so they reversed the first charge from beginning of October. With the reversed charge, I believe I'm under the minimum spend but I also believe I'm outside the window for the retention offer (and I don't use the card so it won't get organic spend on it in the near future).
Thoughts? Reach out to AMEX or just hope it doesn't register?
Thoughts? Reach out to AMEX or just hope it doesn't register?
Nov 27, 2022, 4:53 pm
#1172
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,224
I'm going to have to reach out because I'm going to have them transfer the balance over to another card...
It was only 15k MR so not the biggest loss. Just curious if there's any recent DPs on clawbacks
Nov 29, 2022, 7:54 am
#1173
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 2,263
I would suggest not saying anything and just move along with your business. Only bad stuff can happen from bringing it up
Nov 29, 2022, 8:16 am
#1174
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA Plat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 16,859
Unless I desperateLy needed the credit, I would leave it on that card. Amex will after a few months mail you a check. Or you can look for the online feature to manage it yourself (there are threads about it), but last time I did that it messed up and sent me two checks over the course of three weeks, the second one was canceled, and caused my bank to charge me a fee.
Nov 29, 2022, 9:03 am
#1175
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,224
Unless I desperateLy needed the credit, I would leave it on that card. Amex will after a few months mail you a check. Or you can look for the online feature to manage it yourself (there are threads about it), but last time I did that it messed up and sent me two checks over the course of three weeks, the second one was canceled, and caused my bank to charge me a fee.
Nov 30, 2022, 10:37 am
#1176
Join Date: Nov 2022
Posts: 61
Just received 55k for 4k spend on my Platinum that's been open for 1 year. Accepted.
(47k spend in last year)
(47k spend in last year)
Nov 30, 2022, 11:06 am
#1177
Join Date: May 2016
Location: In btw SJC & SFO
Programs: Marriott Titanium & LTP, Hilton Diamond (Aspire card), Hyatt Globalist, UA Gold (almost free agent)
Posts: 510
Just chatted and received below personal offers:
Plat - 30k for $3k spend (last year 40k for $3k )
Gold - 15k for $2k spend (last year the same offer)
I plan to keep both Plat and Gold even no retention offer.
Green - 10k for $1k spend, cancelled as I have spent only a few hundred $ total in the past 3 years (last two years same 7,500 points no spend)
Plat - 30k for $3k spend (last year 40k for $3k )
Gold - 15k for $2k spend (last year the same offer)
I plan to keep both Plat and Gold even no retention offer.
Green - 10k for $1k spend, cancelled as I have spent only a few hundred $ total in the past 3 years (last two years same 7,500 points no spend)
Nov 30, 2022, 2:06 pm
#1178
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 121
First year of biz plat renewal. Chatted in and got 40k MR for $10k spend in 3 months, which someone else reported. Seemed good so took it.
Dec 2, 2022, 9:57 am
#1179
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,515
One of my 3 AMEX BIZ PLTs (I keep getting NLL offers and accepting them--lol) came up for its first renewal.
Called in to cancel:
Offered 40k MR for $10k in spend. NO thanks.
Closed account.
Called in to cancel:
Offered 40k MR for $10k in spend. NO thanks.
Closed account.
Dec 2, 2022, 11:57 am
#1180
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NYC suburbs
Programs: UA LT Gold (BIS), AA LT Plat (CC SUBs & BD), Hilton Dia (CC), Hyatt Glob (BIB), et. al.
Posts: 3,299
Datapoint update: Regarding the sad saga of my prematurely accepted retention offer as described in posts 941 and 984 above.
Annual fee for the account was billed and paid in September. Retention offer anniversary end of November. Called today, no retention offer available. Agent said I could “downgrade” to biz gold ($295) or biz green ($95) with prorated refund of AF and no obligation to keep the downgraded account open for any length of time.
Since a prorated AF refund will be ~$50 per month, I’ve decided to keep it open as a biz plat until early January, do $200 UA TB purchases, hopefully get the airline fee credits quickly, downgrade to biz green, close the biz green in September when the AF bills. Any thoughts about that plan?
BREAK
During the same call today, asked about offer for a 11.5 month old biz gold account, of 3 or 4 biz golds, expect $295 AF to be billed in 2 weeks, minimal use beyond SUB, 2 or 3 months with $100-$200 balance, all at 4x MR points. Offered $175 statement credit with no spend requirement.
BREAK
Some general retention offer and cancellation/downgrade info. AmEx calls them “Loyalty Incentive” offers or “Loyalty” offers. Card can be cancelled or downgraded during the first year at risk of clawback of SUB. (I was having visions of new NLL $695 AF biz plats with 150K MR SUB being downgraded after a month or 2, immediately after SUB received, with refund of hundreds of AF dollars, obviously not worth the risk of clawback and additional eyes on account.)
(#941, 9/24/22) …10 months ago … accepted a relatively small offer on a 2 month old Biz Plat card … now … a large AF being billed and no offer due to accepted offer 10 months ago and decision of paying a large AF (for a card of which I have 2 or 3 others with little use beyond minimum spend) or cancelling the card 11 months after receiving a relatively small retention offer. Not sure which is more palatable, paying the fee or accepting the risk.
Teaching point: only discuss and accept retention offers at the approximate time of AF billing. …
Teaching point: only discuss and accept retention offers at the approximate time of AF billing. …
(#984, 10/4/22) … I’m loath to pay the “grandfathered” AF of $595 for a card I have no use for and have several other identical cards. I’m almost as loath to close the account 11 months after accepting a retention offer, don’t want to bring additional attention to my account(s). The agent did say that AmEx in general has become a little more strict about the 1 year from retention offer and has been taking back retention offers more frequently in an effort to reduce gaming.
The agent suggested waiting until exactly 1 year from accepted retention offer and then downgrading to a Biz Gold or closing the Biz Plat and opening a Blue Biz Plus or Cash. Either way I would receive a prorated (~5/6, ~$495) refund of the Biz Plat annual fee vice cancellation without downgrade or new account which would not include any AF refund. She did say that changing to biz Gold would not involve a new application and would keep the same account number and include a prorated Biz Gold AF (~5/6 of $295). Changing to Blue Biz Plus or Cash (no AF) would involve applying for (on the phone with her department) a new account and (presumably) upon approval of the new account closing the Biz Plat and receiving the same prorated refund. Both options carry no obligation to keep the new account open for any length of time.
…
Teaching point quoted above remains, even more so now.
The agent suggested waiting until exactly 1 year from accepted retention offer and then downgrading to a Biz Gold or closing the Biz Plat and opening a Blue Biz Plus or Cash. Either way I would receive a prorated (~5/6, ~$495) refund of the Biz Plat annual fee vice cancellation without downgrade or new account which would not include any AF refund. She did say that changing to biz Gold would not involve a new application and would keep the same account number and include a prorated Biz Gold AF (~5/6 of $295). Changing to Blue Biz Plus or Cash (no AF) would involve applying for (on the phone with her department) a new account and (presumably) upon approval of the new account closing the Biz Plat and receiving the same prorated refund. Both options carry no obligation to keep the new account open for any length of time.
…
Teaching point quoted above remains, even more so now.
Since a prorated AF refund will be ~$50 per month, I’ve decided to keep it open as a biz plat until early January, do $200 UA TB purchases, hopefully get the airline fee credits quickly, downgrade to biz green, close the biz green in September when the AF bills. Any thoughts about that plan?
BREAK
During the same call today, asked about offer for a 11.5 month old biz gold account, of 3 or 4 biz golds, expect $295 AF to be billed in 2 weeks, minimal use beyond SUB, 2 or 3 months with $100-$200 balance, all at 4x MR points. Offered $175 statement credit with no spend requirement.
BREAK
Some general retention offer and cancellation/downgrade info. AmEx calls them “Loyalty Incentive” offers or “Loyalty” offers. Card can be cancelled or downgraded during the first year at risk of clawback of SUB. (I was having visions of new NLL $695 AF biz plats with 150K MR SUB being downgraded after a month or 2, immediately after SUB received, with refund of hundreds of AF dollars, obviously not worth the risk of clawback and additional eyes on account.)
Dec 2, 2022, 12:01 pm
#1181
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 25
Chatted for Personal Plat renewal and received either 55k MR or $550 for $4k spend in 3 months. Second year for a renewal, and have put virtually no spend on the card over the past year besides taking advantage of some of the credits (airline, saks, NYTimes)
Accepted the MR offer.
Accepted the MR offer.
Dec 3, 2022, 6:15 am
#1182
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: BNA and FLL
Programs: National Executive Elite, IHG Diamond Elite, Hilton Gold, SW A List, Marriott Gold
Posts: 964
Chatted for Personal Plat renewal and received either 55k MR or $550 for $4k spend in 3 months. Second year for a renewal, and have put virtually no spend on the card over the past year besides taking advantage of some of the credits (airline, saks, NYTimes)
Accepted the MR offer.
Accepted the MR offer.
Dec 3, 2022, 7:30 am
#1183
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,959
Dec 3, 2022, 8:57 am
#1184
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NYC suburbs
Programs: UA LT Gold (BIS), AA LT Plat (CC SUBs & BD), Hilton Dia (CC), Hyatt Glob (BIB), et. al.
Posts: 3,299
IMO MR points can usually be leveraged to a value of significantly more than $0.01/each. Not sure of my exact value but I submit that if the number of points offered is ~75-80 X the USD amount, it is better to take the points because they are commonly worth more than $0.01/each.
Dec 3, 2022, 12:53 pm
#1185
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: National EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 231
Called retentions and got a /terrible/ offer, 20k MR after spending $3000, and use 1MR = 1 cent to pay the annual fee, despite me spending ~24K over one year, unlike my colleagues who spent ~5K or less and got 30K/$3000 or even 40K/$3000 ... suffice it to say I'm canceling. Enjoyed my Platinum Life and will see it again soon, the next time there is a no-Lifetime Language offer 